Add the wet ingredients to the combined dry ingredients until incorporated. Spread the batter on top of the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. I baked mine for 55 minutes. After 5 minutes cooling, flip the cake out onto a serving plate.

I made this cake about a week ago and it was a yummy breakfast treat. I am really enjoying Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I picked it up at the library and have renewed it...I'll be getting it after my move! My new bookshelf has an empty space, you know... :)

Okay pastry people...what happened here? Big holes due to overmixing? undermixing? I know it is one of them.

Oh well, it'll be my Swiss Cheese-like Apple Upside-Down Cake!

I did enjoy this cake. It was quick and "light" (only 1 stick of butter! hee hee). However, my favorite upside-down apple cake is definitely the Barefoot Contessa's Apple Tartin Cake. That one has more butter and sour cream...and it uses a caramel layer. You should definitely try both!

holes in cakes are a result of over mixing :) good to use cake flour (less gluten) and only mix to 'just combine' everything :) I've learnt also from cooking shows that takin th time to really whip up the eggs and butter makes a huge difference in the airiness of the final product :) Looks delish though :) Love apples in cakes :)

I have this book out of the library, too...except, darn, I can't renew it before I get a chance to cook everything in it. I guess I'll just go directly to this recipe. Love the idea of making it with apples...and I didn't know Ina's apple cake was a batter cake (instead of puffy pastry), so thanks! I remember seeing her make it but didn't remember that detail. I'm always looking for new apple cakes...

Despite the holes, it is a nice looking cake and I'm sure it was delicious. I wasn't so lucky with the plum upside-down cake I tried to make about three weeks ago--a real disaster! I think I'll keep an eye out for that book at my local library.

Hmmm. There are a couple of things you could try to avoid the holes. One possibility is that the dry ingredients didn't get stirred together well enough, resulting in areas of cake that had more leavening (too much gas formation) and areas of cake with too little (dense).

Cakes that are off in ratio could also cause tunnels. I know 1 stick of butter is making you happy, but the cake could be a little too lean. Try increasing the butter by a couple of tablespoons (and then decreasing the buttermilk by the same amount), and adding 1/4 cup more sugar. Also after you pour the batter, run a spoon through it to break up trapped air pockets.

Mary It's due to over mixing,By over mixing you are creating too much gluten that when baked the evaporated gases have difficulty escaping from the product. The over mixing creates thick gluten reinforced cell walls that prevent the batter from letting off steam slowly. Instead the gases build up until they finally explode from pressure that has built up. They escape upwards kind of like a volcano and thats what creates the holes.

I've been looking for apple recipes because I have a huge bag of them from a recent orchard trip so thanks for sharing!! This looks so yummy! I've seen Ina make her version but have never tried that one either.

I follow my mothers cooking tips for getting a nice texture to cakes without holes.

1. Sieve the flour and powdered ingredients to get a nice even mix and knock out the lumps (I don't see this mentioned in many modern cooking books).

2. Combine the wet ingredients in a bit at a time instead of throwing them all in at once or use the well in the middle of the mix mixing technique and mix the wet and dry together that way, and try not to fold in air while doing it. (I do it by hand, going clockwise myself with a nice tilt to the bowl to make the mixing easier).

3. Drop the cake, etc, in its tin on the floor/tabletop a few times to help knock out the air (Most fun with heavy fruit cakes).

Marlyn,Sorry the recipe didn't work out for you. However, just to avoid any confusion...this is not my recipe. It is from Mark Bittman's book. Mark has a website and a "Contact" section: http://www.markbittman.com/ if you would like to discuss the recipe with him.

I, obviously, am not the best baker - as the big holes in my cake demonstrate! I don't develop my own recipes...I rely on other people with much more experience! :) Thanks, Mary the Food Librarian